The four day 7EIS event will call for a ‘Pact for Innovation’ with the objective of developing an ambitious vision of what innovation can do for the EU economy and society. The future-oriented bottom-up approach of the Pact will unite a group of local, regional, national and EU innovation stakeholders.

The 7EIS programme focuses on key-challenges and opportunities in the field of innovation. The summit will host numerous sessions and events on Europe’s grand challenges in the innovation sector ranging from energy to industry, environment and agriculture, the bio-economy, health, transport, safety and security, quantum computing, and the role of regions and cities. It will provide a platform for leaders in various sectors to discuss the policies and instruments required to promote innovation throughout the economy.

Materials for the energy transitionThe Cefic-SusChem session will address global trends including population growth, climate change, urbanisation and the rising demand for energy that present major challenges for society. Advanced materials have a strategic importance to support economic and sustainable growth, strengthen competitiveness and enable the transition to a low-carbon economy that meets these challenges.

The chemical industry, as a provider of innovative advanced materials, is in a unique position to supply the sustainable solutions that society needs to make this energy transition and to address the critical energy challenge we face. The chemical industry brings a vital contribution across the entire energy value chain including:

Materials and key enabling technologies for advanced energy storage including new battery technologies

Materials that enable new low-carbon energy production such as solar cells, wind turbines and other renewable energy sources

Materials and technologies (Power to Gas, Power to Liquid) that can capture and use CO2 for alternative sustainable fuels and chemical energy storage, and

The ultimate goal of direct conversion of atmospheric CO2 to fuels and materials

Join the session on the morning of 8 December from 08:00 to discuss these exciting opportunities and challenges for innovation and find out about new developments from the chemical industry that can enable Europe to make the transition to a competitive, sustainable low-carbon economy.

The session will be hosted by Jerzy Buzek, MEP, Vice Chair of the K4I Forum Governing Board and speakers will include K4I President Gernot Klotz as the session moderator, Rudolph Strohmeier from DG Research and Innovation in the European Commission, Peter Nagler, Head of International Innovation at Evonik and SusChem board member, Christian Collette, VP Research & Development at Arkema, Martin Winter, Senior Manager Corporate New Business Development at Clariant, and Pierre Barthélemy, Cefic’s Executive Director R&I and also a SusChem board member. More details of the session can be found here.

Cefic and SusChem will also be present in the 7EIS exhibition area at the Parliament including an innovative interactive game offering the chance to win valuable prizes – more details soon!

Socio-economic impact of EU JUs
Another session of interest to SusChem stakeholders on 8 December involves the Biobased Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU). A debate stating at 17:00 will look at the new Joint Undertakings (JUs) that have been set up to drive innovation in key industrial sectors including aviation, health, fuel cells and hydrogen, and bio-based products and materials.

High-level representatives of the European Commission and the JUs, including Philippe Mengal, Executive Director of the BBI JU and Bert de Colvenaer, Executive Director of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen JU, will present facts and figures on their socio-economic impact so far, and offer an insight into their expected impact in the years to come.

Youth focus
A special focus of the 7EIS summit will be on youth involvement. In order to spark a debate that provides constructive, sustainable and concrete contributions to future EU-policy making, young innovators from all over Europe will actively engage with policy-makers and innovation leaders. In addition, the summit will provide young innovators with a unique platform to enhance cross-border networking.